Mayor Leading Recovery Efforts at Hurricane Melissa's Ground Zero
This local leader of the town of Black River – an area referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the monstrous storm surges and widespread devastation wrought by the catastrophe.
Reflecting on the traumatic ordeal, Richard Solomon recalled enduring the Category 5 storm at an emergency response center.
“The entire town of this area is in ruins,” he said. “The destruction is so severe that the prime minister classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”
Several people from Black River are reported dead, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional fatalities that remain unconfirmed due to connectivity and transportation challenges.
“Storm Melissa came around 8 a.m. and continued for around several hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and torrential rainfall,” he explained.
“We experienced up to 4.8 metres of water at the response center. That was a frightening moment for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any further, because we were on the upper level, and I tell you, when we saw the water climbing, it was a terrifying experience for us.”
The mayor explained that Black River, situated in the severely affected southwest parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and power, and most structures have lost their roofs. One official earlier described the town as under water, with more than 500,000 inhabitants lacking electricity. A landslide has blocked the primary routes of a nearby area, where streets have been reduced to mud pits. Locals are now removing water from their homes and attempting to salvage their possessions.
Search and rescue operations and evaluations have become almost impossible because all the town’s vehicles and essential facilities such as fire, law enforcement, hospitals and supermarkets were “severely damaged,” says the mayor.
The mayor is now concentrating on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the disaster.
“The mayor's car was totally covered by water. My roof went, so I do understand the suffering that people are feeling, but what is a priority for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this time,” he explains.
The mayor estimates that it will take millions of Jamaican dollars to restore Black River after the hurricane's annihilation. For now, he states, the main goal is clearing impassable roads, which have isolated the town.
“We are now trying to get the major thoroughfares and critical lateral roads here so that we can deliver relief supplies in. The majority of our supermarkets, if not all, were severely affected so they will be unable to provide supplies to persons who are in dire straits at this time,” he says.
The prime minister has seen the damage first-hand, with an aerial tour of the region revealing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.
“It is going to be a massive task to rebuild this historic town. But while it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and better,” he told reporters.
“We will get it done. So keep the optimism, remain hopeful, and we will get through this, and we will reconstruct stronger,” he affirmed.
